This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7xc2xa7119 and/or 365 to 99 610 055.8 filed in Europe on Sep. 20, 1999; the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The invention relates to a SIM card holder for an electronic device comprising a PCB and an interior base, said SIM card holder comprising a connector part provided with connectors, said connector part being mounted on the PCB, guides for guiding the SIM card along two parallel opposite sides and a first end stop and a second end stop provided at two opposite sides other than said sides of the SIM card holder.
The electronic device may be a mobile radio station such as a mobile telephone, a communicator, a pager, or the like.
Electronic devices such as those mentioned above are getting smaller and smaller and in line with this all the structural parts of the device have to be smaller. This includes the SIM card holder which is configured for holding a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card in order to identify the user of the device. The SIM card contains information about the user and is in contact with the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) via connectors provided on the PCB when it is mounted in the electronic device.
Different types of SIM card holders are known today. Some have complex designs including hinges and displaceable parts while others have relatively simple designs.
A known SIM card holder having a simple design comprises a connector part that is surface mounted on the PCB, said connector part being provided with connectors which are brought into contact with the terminals of the SIM card when it is mounted in the SIM card holder. Further, the connector part is provided with to metal guides extending upwards from the connector part, said metal guides guiding the SIM card along two parallel opposite sides when it is slidingly inserted between the metal guides. One end stop of the SIM card holder is provided by a part of the frame of the electronic device, this end featuring an inclined face to facilitate the mounting and dismounting of the SIM card. A small part of the inclined face is perpendicular to the sliding direction of the SIM card in order to form an end stop for the SIM card. The other end stop features an upwardly extending wall mounted on the connector part.
Though simple in design, the known SIM card holder has some disadvantages. First, the dismounting of the SIM card is difficult because one end of the SIM card has to be lifted over the end stop provided at the inclined face before it can be slided out of the metal guides. Second, the manufacturing tolerances of the various parts of the SIM card holder are very small in order to ensure a correct contact between the SIM card and the connectors mounted on the PCB. However, these tolerances are difficult to meet because the terminals are mounted on the PCB and one end stop is made as a part of the frame of the device, and these two partsxe2x80x94the PCB and the frame of the devicexe2x80x94are not firmly connected at the area of the SIM card holder.
Therefore, there is a need for a simple SIM card holder which overcomes these disadvantages, and the object of the invention is to provide such a SIM card holder.
This is accomplished by a SIM card holder as mentioned in the introduction wherein each end stop is provided as a part connected to the PCB and wherein at least one of the end stops is displaceable.
Since each end stop is provided as a part extending from the PCB and that one of the end stops is displaceable, it is achieved firstly that the distance between the two end stops is clearly defined at all times and the manufacturing tolerances of the end stop can therefore be very narrow which ensures that the SIM card is positioned correctly in the SIM card holder, and secondly that, despite the narrow tolerances, the dismounting of the SIM card is easy.
In a preferred embodiment the guides for guiding the SIM card along two parallel opposite sides extend from the connector part whereby the positioning of the SIM card laterally is well-defined.
Preferably the first end stop extends from the connector part whereas the second end stop is a discrete component mounted on the PCB. Hereby the area of the PCB between the connector part and the second end stop can be used for other electronic components whereby the size of the electronic device can be minimised.
In a preferred embodiment the second end stop extends through an aperture provided in the interior base of the electronic device. This means that the electronic components positioned between the connector part and the second end stop are protected by a part of the interior base which at the same time may serve as a guide face for the SIM card during mounting.
Preferably the second end stop is displaceable and it may comprise a springbiased pin or a tap provided with an resilient tongue. When dismounting the SIM card, the second end stop is displaced and the SIM card can be removed out of the SIM card holder. The second end stop subsequently reverts to its protruding position.
The electronic device is preferably a mobile radio station, such as a mobile telephone or a communicator.
It shall be emphasised that the term xe2x80x9ccomprise/comprisingxe2x80x9d when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps components or groups thereof.